Ludwig August Helvig

Ludwig August Helvig , (also Helwig and shortened Ludwig Helwig , or Louis Helvig , * 1796 in Stuttgart , † May 16, 1855 in Tübingen ) was a German draftsman , painter and lithographer as well as a university drawing teacher in Tübingen. He was the father of Carl Helwig , who also appeared as a draftsman, lithographer and photographer .

King Wilhelm of Württemberg (gouache, ca.1842)

Dr. Johann Sebastian von Drey (lithograph, 1834)

Advertisement for the collective picture (published on February 1, 1839)

Illustration in the book Scenes from the Life of a Vicar (1842)

Life

Youth and employment at the university

Helvig, the son of a French secondary school teacher Nikolaus Helwig, was "a tall, handsome, handsome man". He was born and raised in Stuttgart, where he also received his drawing training from the engraver and lithographer Carl Ebner. Then he settled in Tübingen, where he was one of the first Catholics. and was for publishers, u. a. Johann Friedrich Cotta active. After the death of Johann Christian Partzschefeldt , the Tübingen university drawing teacher, he was proposed in June 1820 for the position of a “second drawing teacher”. The future director of the drawing institute Carl Fulda was against Helvig's appeal from the start. Although Helvig was appointed to this position in November 1820, he was not informed about it. On the instructions of the university rector Johann Sebastian Drey on December 12, 1820, Fulda worked out an employment contract for Helvig, which, however, was only signed on August 17, 1822. According to this contract, Helvig received a salary of just 50 fl per year, exactly a third of what the "first drawing teacher" Christoph Friedrich Dörr received, a sum that was not enough even for the simplest life. Because of this, he was forced to keep his independent activity.

Independent work

Helvig founded the first lithographic institute (he was first registered as a lithographer in the tax and property register in 1826) in Tübingen, which was his main source of income. In addition to images, Helvig also printed notes, invoice forms and the like. He also worked as a draftsman and made portraits to order, as well as selling vedutas to collectors. Among those portrayed were often university members and members of the student associations. From the abundance of portraits that have been preserved, it can be concluded that the portraits were the most profitable in the field of drawing. Helvig also offered lithographed portraits of well-known personalities. In recognition of his art of drawing (two free copies should be given to the royal library), King Wilhelm I of Württemberg granted him the privilege of tax relief for a period of 6 years for the portrait of the famous Pietist, the prelate Ernst Gottlieb Bengel , on November 13, 1826 Years from. Helvig's financial difficulties were not only documented by the countless requests for increases in salary, but also by this privilege: if he had been well off, the tax would not have been waived.

Marriage and career high point

Helvig had no real estate, his financial situation, but has stabilized so that in April 1827 he submitted an application to the university and the king for permission to marry Rosina Charlotte Ammermüller, a pastry chef from Tübingen. The marriage on July 5, 1827 brought him five children (born 1830-1835). The wife's dowry also made it possible to expand the lithographic establishment. Although this was not one of Helvig's duties, he made anatomical drawings, which was an argument in the demands for a salary increase. At the beginning of 1830, the king also agreed to an increase in salary (not to 150, but at least 100 fl ).

A collector's picture (one of the first) of Tübingen in the format 15½ * 21 inches (376 * 510 mm), drawn and printed by Helvig and published by the Laupp'schen Buchhandlung in early 1839, testifies to the skill of his lithographic establishment as well as in color. The collective picture grouped 12 views of Tübingen sights around a general view of Tübingen: outer castle portal, botanical garden, Hohentübingen castle , anatomy institute, old auditorium (at that time still "Aula nova"), collegiate church , monastery church Bebenhausen , Bläsibad and Bläsiberg , museum (seat of the " Museum Society ”), Waldhörnle, Schwärzloch Chapel and the Catholic Church.

The case

Helvig's well-developing career was suddenly interrupted when his wife fell ill with " nerve fever " and died on June 24, 1840 after a long illness (of at least 1½ years). The expense caused by the illness, as well as the lack of manpower of his wife, threw him into financial difficulties. Although he was granted a grant on his application of June 30, 1840, the university senate portrayed him as a reckless spendthrift. In the period that followed, his relationship with the employer became increasingly tense. On April 15, 1844, the ministry announced its dismissal for "poor service". In his other activities he was apparently no longer so successful. As a lithographer he was listed in the tax and property register until 1848, but with a lower tax amount. He also stopped advertising. Helvig spent the last years of his life in the Tübingen hospital, where he died on May 16, 1855 at the age of 59. His eldest son Carl Ludwig Nikolaus took over his lithographic establishment.

More famous works

• approx. 1828 Lustnauer Tor (lithograph, 136 * 150 mm, City Museum Tübingen )
• 1832 Tübingen from the east with bridge (lithograph, letterhead, 50 * 175 mm, Württemberg State Library Stuttgart)
• 1835 view from the Wielandshöhe (lithograph, 370 * 480 mm, City Museum Tübingen)
• 1839 Collective picture Tübingen (1 + 12 prospects, lithograph, drawn by Helvig, scratched by C. Burckhardt ( Zurich ), 376 * 510 mm, see above, Stadtmuseum Tübingen)

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  Lustnauer Tor (lithograph, ca.1828)

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  Tübingen from the east with bridge (letterhead, 1832)

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  Collective picture in the colored version

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  The Anatomy Institute (from the collective picture)

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  Choir of the collegiate church (excerpt from the collective picture)

Notes and individual references

1. ↑ Christina Melk: Tübingen views and painters in the 19th century , p. 34/36, place of birth according to: Stadtbild - Weltbild. Tübingen city views from the 16th to 19th centuries , Tübingen 2009, p. 48
2. ↑ Friedrich August von Tschrning: Das Lustnauer Thor , in: "Tübinger Blätter" 1898, p. 37, quoted from: Udo Rauch: From the idyllic Mühlgraben to the noble palace , in: Stadtbild - Weltbild. Tübingen city views from the 16th to 19th centuries , Tübingen 2009, p. 48
3. ↑ Christina Melk: Tübingen Views and Painters in the 19th Century , p. 36 with reference to: Margarethe Gönner: The Catholic Minority in Tübingen 1806 - 1879 . Approval thesis for historical regional studies, University of Tübingen 1980
4. ↑ The delay came because Helvig, who was supposedly only informed of his appointment on May 2, 1821, had meanwhile taken on a major job for Cotta, which ruled out an earlier start.
5. ↑ Numerous advertisements in the "Tübinger und Rottenburger Intellektivenblatt" from the years 1830–1834.
6. ↑ His advertisements in this area appeared in the years 1823–1839.
7. ↑ Christina Melk: Tübingen Views and Painters in the 19th Century , p. 35
8. ↑ He has put his current fortune at 908 fl.

bibliography

• Theresia Ludwig: Louis Helvig . In: Artists for Students. Pictures of the university drawing teachers 1780–2012 , ed. by Evamarie Blattner, Wiebke Ratzeburg, Ernst Seidl, Stadtmuseum Tübingen 2012 (= Tübingen catalogs no. 94), ISBN 978-3-941818-13-2 , pp. 72–79
• Christina Melk: Tübingen Views and Painters in the 19th Century , Tübingen 1986 (= Tübingen Catalogs No. 27)

Web links

Commons : Ludwig August Helvig  - Collection of images, videos and audio files